Officials rail out against Cahill's comments

CHARIS ANDERSON

Thursday

May 14, 2009 at 12:01 AM

NEW BEDFORD — Abandoning South Coast Rail is shortsighted and would rob New Bedford and the region of the economic development opportunities rail would bring, local elected officials and the project's director said Wednesday.

NEW BEDFORD — Abandoning South Coast Rail is shortsighted and would rob New Bedford and the region of the economic development opportunities rail would bring, local elected officials and the project's director said Wednesday.

"It's shortsighted to pull the plug on an economic generator like this," said Kristina Egan, the state's manager of the South Coast Rail project. "We can't stand still just because we're in a temporary downturn."

Members of the local legislative delegation, as well as Mayor Scott W. Lang and Egan, reacted to comments made by state Treasurer Timothy Cahill in a meeting Tuesday with The Standard-Times editorial board.

Cahill said construction of the South Coast Rail project would be "virtually impossible" unless the state's economy improved significantly; he also said the cessation of funding for current planning and environmental studies should "be on the table."

According to Egan, the rail project is more than just a transportation solution. It's also a solution to the region's environmental, housing and economic development needs and is a project that will yield multiple dollars in economic benefits for every dollar spent, she said.

"This whole smart growth notion is that people tend to develop along the rail route," Lang said. "It brings jobs; it brings new tax revenue. ... It serves the entire region, but also as an economic pump for the entire state."

According to Rep. Antonio Cabral, D-New Bedford, the funding for the project's planning stage is part of the state's capital budget.

Cutting that funding "is not going to save any significant money out of the operating budget," he said.

Even during economic downturns, it's important to continue to plan — and set aside money for — capital projects, Cabral said.

If the state ignores the funding needed for those types of projects, it will soon find itself without the required infrastructure to support the expansion of businesses and the economy, according to Cabral.

"It is fiscally responsible and prudent for us to continue moving forward in all those infrastructure projects that we have on the table," he said.

Currently, the rail project is in the planning stage, which is funded at $17 million over three years through a bond allocation, Egan said.

The "big money" isn't needed until 2012 when construction is slated to begin, she said.

But, she said, "imagine that we stop everything and then in 2012 we have to start the whole process over. We lose the funds we've already expended on it ... and then we're not shovel-ready for when monies actually come our way."

Rep. William Straus, D-Mattapoisett, agreed that Cahill's comments were "unfortunate" in not making it clear that the construction funds will not be needed for a few years, at which point the economic climate in the state could look much different.

"I think his comments have already had a detrimental impact on the project," Straus said. "It just sounds like the current recession is being used as an excuse to attack the project."

Sen. Mark Montigny, D-New Bedford, said he shares Cahill's caution about the state's finances, but the state can't allow every short- and intermediate-term crisis to affect its long-term planning.

The rail project "should be one of the state's top priorities and therefore other projects need to get replaced, not SouthCoast commuter rail," he said.

Montigny said the state budget has been mismanaged over many years in a way that has affected significantly every transit and highway and bridge project in the state.

Now that the state is trying "to straighten out the mess ... all of a sudden that means there's nothing left for all these communities outside of Boston? I don't think so," he said.

Rep. Stephen R. Canessa, D-New Bedford, agreed with Cahill that the state is in the midst of challenging economic times. But, he said, "one way we can start to turn around our economy is making some key strategic investments in our infrastructure that will create jobs and that provide for economic development opportunities both locally and regionally."

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